Bloodstained Meadows
by iridescent bookyworm
Summary: 'Their corpses scattered around the arena like wildflowers.' Drabbles about the Careers during the 74th Hunger Games.
1. Glimmer

_Glimmer's Story_

_**(A/N: In my version District Four isn't a Career District.)**_

Glimmer's fists clenched as she stood on the metal plates under the Cornucopia. Her knees wobbled uncontrollably. She forced herself to stop moving. The slightest change of movement could blow her to bits; it didn't take much pressure to set the landmines off.

Now she stood as still as a statue but her heart was beating erratically.

'_You shouldn't be scared Glimmer, you should be feared. You're a Career Tribute. The victor's crown is practically on your head.' _Glimmer assured herself of this confidently. After all, she was only the most popular girl in District One. Who wouldn't sponsor her? She already had five modeling offers set up for her in the Capitol.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!" Claudius Templesmith shouted.

Glimmer could practically hear the cheers from the sponsors. Surely they were already making offerings to Cashmere, her mentor and close friend. One day she was going to be in the Capitol cheering with a huge bag of popcorn. The Hunger Games were a mere obstacle.

The gong rang out and Glimmer ran like lightning to her fellow Career Tributes. When Glimmer looked down, she already had bow and arrows in her hands. They weren't as well made as she was used to, and they certainly weren't as powerful looking as a spear, but they could work.

When she looked up, the boy from District Four was shaking like a leaf. He knew at that very second he was going to die, that she was going to kill him. He closed his eyes as she shot an arrow into his heart. She watched gleefully as he slumped to the ground, dead.

'_One down.'_

Blood was everywhere, splattering down on the tributes as if it were rain. Clove and Cato, the tributes from District Two, collected supplies of food while killing some poor souls along the way. Marvel, the male tribute from Glimmer's district managed to collect several different kinds of knives and a spear.

Several bodies lay on the ground when the Careers decided to clear out.

Cato and Clove's hands were stained with blood. Glimmer smiled to herself noticing this. The Careers were fairly superior to the other tributes. They trained all of their lives. Next to the Capitol, they had the finest of everything. It would take two days maximum before all the other tributes from poorer districts were cleared out.

As the Career's walked through the woods to set up camp their irritation with each other grew.

Clove eyed Marvel sharply. "I want your knives," she remarked coldly.

Glimmer couldn't help but smirk to herself. There was no way Marvel was going to listen to her. Marvel was the toughest guy in District One. If Glimmer wasn't going to win, he surely would.

"No way! If you want the knives you fight for them like a big girl."

"Clove can throw knives. I've been training with her for the past eight years; she never missed a target." Cato put in, giving Clove a secretive smile.

"I don't care! I'm older and stronger then you Clove!"

"I've killed more tributes then you in the bloodbath! I killed four and Cato killed four. How many tributes did you kill today Marvel?"

"Two." Marvel snarled, handing her his collection of knives. "How many tributes did you kill Glimmer?" He asked curiously.

"I killed one tribute." Glimmer mumbled, suddenly interested in her shoes.

The hideous sound of laughter burst Glimmer's eardrums.

"_One _tribute?" Clove snickered in disbelief.

"How many years have you been training?" Cato asked.

Even Marvel, the one person Glimmer truly trusted, laughed with Cato and Clove.

"It won't be one tribute I killed much longer if you don't keep your mouths shut." Glimmer hissed.

Glimmer straightened her fishtail braids with her fingers and sat down. Just then she smelled the smoke spiraling through the air. The unnatural light in the middle of the forest meant that someone was lighting a fire.

"There's a tribute nearby!" Glimmer yelled.

Just as the Careers started to run, Glimmer bumped into a boy with ash blond hair. Glimmer recognized him from the interviews the night before. He was the boy from District Twelve who admitted his passionate love for Katniss, also known as the Girl on Fire. Too bad love was only a weakness that got in the way of what was really important. The boy was probably running to find her. Despite everything, Glimmer respected the boy. He wasn't going to die at her hands because of ignorance or fear; he was going to die at her hands because he dared to love someone. Something Glimmer would never think of doing, it was too risky.

Her arrow was pointing directly at his throat when the boy began to speak.

"I can help you find Katniss! I've been watching her for the past twelve years; I know every trick she has up her sleeve."

Without saying a word, Cato motioned for the boy to join the others and they began to walk closer and closer to the smoke.

_He's lying. How can Cato not see how lovesick the boy is? _

When she was sure no one was looking, Glimmer let herself accept the truth. When she volunteered back at home this was nothing like she had in mind. When Glimmer looked at the sky eleven tributes replaced the stars. There were still twelve threats to her life lurking in the forest.

_Don't think like that Glimmer, they're just prey. _

None of the Careers, not even Marvel, respected her.

_They're going to be dead anyway soon. One day back at home, you're going to laugh while you watch Clove, Cato and Marvel die._

Self-pity time was over; feeling sorry for yourself probably clogs the pores.

"Glimmer, be honest, did a tribute light the fire or did you sneak a flat iron into the arena and forget to turn it off?" Marvel snickered

Glimmer didn't even bother to look at him as rage tore through her body.

The girl from District Eight shivered in front of the fire.

_You have to do something to prove yourself, show them you're their equal._

Glimmer knew what she had to do. She walked towards the girl with a knife clasped in her hand. Somehow this was different from the Bloodbath, when all of Glimmer's emotions had been replaced with adrenaline.

As Glimmer crept closer the girl started to cry.

"Please", the girl whispered. "Please don't kill me."

_You're so close to getting their respect. Show the Capitol there is more to you than pretty blonde hair and living in District One. _

"Sorry Eight, some wishes just won't be granted today," Glimmer replied with acid in her voice as she slit the girl's throat.

/

_**A Few Days Later**_

Glimmer heard the buzz of tracker jackers before she opened her eyes. Her body was too sore from shaking from the nightmares to run.

She heard the swift sounds of her fellow Career Tributes and the boy from Twelve running away.

"Help!" She screamed.

_You're not going to die Glimmer._

No one came, no one cared.

_You can still escape. _

Glimmer tried to run when a sharp pain jabbed her leg. Green ooze dripped down her leg.

_You can fight._

Glimmer took her bow and tried to swing the tracker jackers away, desperately clinging onto her last shred of hope that she was going to live.

She saw the multiple stingers pierce through her skin. She could hear the voice of the girl from Eight talking to her in a disturbingly close voice.

"_You killed me, you deserve to die."_

"No!" Glimmer roared. "I'm going to survive! I'm going to win!"

Ghosts of the fallen tributes pulled Glimmer up into the sky with them. The last thing Glimmer thought before she heard her canon roar was:

_I'm not going to die_

**(A/N: Wow! That was disturbing! This is the first chapter of my one-shots for the ruthless yet loveable Careers! I would really enjoy some feedback on how I did. Thank you to my brilliant beta reader Funkypurplerhino.)**


	2. Marvel

Marvel heard the snap of the boy from District Three's neck. It took all of his strength to watch and pretend that he actually admired Cato's ability to kill without feeling anything.

A canon roared, signifying the boy's death.

"Another tribute down," Cato whispered.

Marvel couldn't help it, he scowled in disgust. The Hunger Games were despicable, the Capitol were a bunch of cowards covered in makeup. Marvel's whole life was just one big act of pretending he loved the Hunger Games like everyone else in his district.

He considered telling the world his secret during the interviews. That all changed when Marvel saw Peeta, the boy with the bread.

He couldn't help but dream about Peeta and his irresistible blue eyes. During the bloodbath, Peeta's pure voice crept into his thoughts.

_'We can win together Marvel. I don't love Katniss, I love you. We can return to your district and everyone will accept us. We will be Victors after all.'_

"I'll survive for you," Marvel promised.

Marvel kept his word ever since, he escaped the Tracker Jackers when Katniss released a nest of them on him and the other Careers. He survived the bloodbath, and now he was going to survive the rest of the games with Peeta by his side.

"I have a feeling Katniss is the one who exploded our food supply," Cato stated. He gave Marvel a seductive smile. "Will you please take care of her for me? I set a trap for her to walk into. You'll be able to end Katniss pretty quickly."

Marvel nearly gasped. Could Cato know? Impossible, Marvel never told a living soul.

"How much is Katniss's death worth to you?" Marvel asked sharply.

"I know all about your little secret spear boy. Unless you want all of Panem to find out, you will do what I say."

Cato smirked cruelly, an icy gleam in his blue eyes. He knew that Marvel must have been insecure about his true self.

Marvel shook his head bitterly, remembering how his parents gave him the exact same look on the reaping day.

"_What do you mean, you like boys?" Marvel's mom, Cora, barked._

_"I mean that I like boys," Marvel mumbled. The minute the words escaped his mouth he knew he shouldn't have said that._

_Cora's hand came crashing against his cheek._

_"How could you do this to your father and me? What will everyone in District One think when they realize? You'll look like a wimp! All of your training, all of your honor in this District will be gone."_

_Tears rolled down Marvel's cheeks. A mixture of sorrow, fear and anger rose in his stomach. In District One, honor was all you had._

_"What can I do to make you proud?" Marvel sobbed._

"_Volunteer for the Hunger Games, maybe then you will be worthy of being my son."_

_After Marvel volunteered, his family didn't even visit him in the Justice Building to say goodbye. Marvel collapsed to his knees, promising himself he wouldn't cry. He used to be the golden boy, the guy everyone wanted to be. He was the pride and joy of his family and all the girls and boys wanted to be like him. Now even his own mother despised him._

_"I have to win," Marvel whispered. "I have to win. I have to win. Or else my mother won't love me."_

A dull pain rose in Marvel's head.

He could only imagine the expression on his mother's face.

"Okay Cato, I'll kill Katniss," Marvel announced.

"Don't disappoint me," Cato grumbled. "Or else all of Panem will know your secret." Cato's voice was barely audible, but it was loud enough to drain all the color from Marvel's face.

Marvel wandered through the woods, looking for his target. It had been twenty minutes and so far the only thing he found was a fat squirrel. Marvel remembered how he overheard Katniss teaching Peeta how to make traps in the training center.

"This way your prey comes to you instead," Katniss had told him.

Marvel fished for some rope in his backpack and began to work.

Marvel was lying against a tree a few yards from his trap when he heard a scream.

The scream was surprisingly high pitched...it sounded almost like a child's. Marvel brushed the thoughts from his mind. It would be easier to kill Katniss if he didn't think of her as a human.

That's when he finally saw the tribute lying in his trap. It wasn't Katniss at all...it was Rue, the little twelve year old girl from District 11.

"Katniss! Katniss!" Rue cried.

The spear in Marvel's hand shook. Could he spare the little girl just once? Did he really have to cut her life short?

Rue, I'm coming!" Katniss yelled.

Did she really think she could save her?

Rue was so pure the way she stood on her toes like a bird about to take flight. She was everything Marvel ever wanted to be.

Before Marvel could even think about what he was doing, the spear flew out of his hand, hitting Rue right in the stomach.

"No!"

An arrow pierced Marvel's throat. He fell to the ground, silently thanking Katniss for saving him from a fate far worse than dying.

Did his honor really matter if his mother forced him to throw his life away as if it meant nothing to her?

"Did you blow up the mines?" Rue whispered.

Katniss held her hand, trying to be strong for Rue but barely succeeding.

"Every last bit."

No one came to comfort Marvel. Did anyone really love him?

That's when the scent of baking bread filled the air.

Peeta had come for him.

"_Marvel, please don't leave me! I don't care about Katniss, I love you and only you!" Peeta begged._

_A faint flicker of a smile came across Marvel's lips._

_"If only you would have told me earlier," Marvel replied, gasping for breath._

_Peeta's gentle hands stroked Marvel's cheek, making his heart beat rapidly._

_"Grant my wish Peeta, kiss me," Marvel murmured, delirious under death's spell._

_Peeta leaned in, brushing his lips across Marvel's, kissing him passionately until Marvel's heart stopped beating._

If only Marvel knew he imagined the entire encounter. If only he wasn't aching for love... maybe, just maybe he would still be alive.

AN: Another chapter done! Sorry I haven't updated in forever! Thank you to everyone who favorited, subscribed and reviewed. I would especially like to thank my beta reader Funkypurplerhino, who is not just my beta reader, but she is also a wonderful friend!


	3. Clove

"Clove, please stay with me!"

Cato's pleas could barely be heard underneath the sound of her life draining. It was a scary and ugly sound.

"Clove! _Clove!_ Open your eyes, squeeze my hand, do something!"

How did this happen? What did she do to deserve this? What could Clove possibly have done to make her deserve _this?_

_Clove ran through the woods eagerly. In just a few minutes her biggest threat, Katniss Everdeen, would be dead. The feast was going to start soon; she was practically only a few feet from the Cornucopia. _

_Clove smiled gleefully, it was the first time she smiled since her first date with Cato. Soon there would be no threats, nothing standing in their way. Lover Boy was on death's door and Thresh was strong but he wasn't a skilled fighter like Cato was. It was only a matter of time before the girl from Five died; all they had to do was catch her. _

_At last she had reached the Cornucopia. The girl from Five was almost out of view. Maybe she was a threat after all. _

_Katniss ran confidently to the table holding the necessities for each tribute. Clove ran like the wind. 'Got you,' she thought. _

"I'm so sorry Cato," Clove whispered.

Cato held Clove in his arms, he tried to look away but Clove could see right through him. Cato Graphite, the most bloodthirsty teenager in all of District Two, was actually crying. "Don't talk like that."

_Katniss fired her arrows at Clove, Clove could tell the girl was dazed, instead of hitting her Katniss hit a squirrel five feet away. Clove snickered. It was unfortunate how easy it would be to kill her. _

_It was too bad really, she was expecting a challenge. A fight that would show all the bullies in District Two that she wasn't just another average teenager. Clove had skill, she could kill. _

_Just the thought of all the girls back home with their snobby smirks and laughter at her pain, sent adrenaline rushing through Clove's veins like wildfire. _

_Clove pounced on Katniss, catching her in surprise. The Girl On Fire was trapped now, soon all of her inferno would just be a distant memory. This was going to be her personal moment of victory, the day she killed her biggest threat. Little did Clove know that it was actually going to be her swan song. _

"I'm so scared." Clove mumbled, loud enough so only Cato could hear. Career tributes weren't supposed to be scared; they were supposed to be feared.

Cato held her face in his hands. It was almost as if he was afraid that maybe if he let it go for just the briefest period of time that his world would come crumbling down. "You have no reason to be scared, just hold out a bit longer Clove, Lover Boy is probably already dead and Katniss is just a matter of time. Sponsor gifts are probably on their way right now. We can win Clove, we can win."

"You know that isn't true," Clove rasped. "No one likes me."

Tears spilled out of Cato's eyes. He turned away from the cameras long enough to see the very rock that cut Clove's life short. Cato couldn't take it anymore. He kicked it until the rock shattered.

"Can't you see that I like you?" Cato shouted. "Damn, Clove I_ love _you!"

Clove was speechless, yet in a way she knew all along. "I love you, too."

"_Where's your boyfriend District Twelve? Still hanging on?" Clove smiled gleefully, seeing every flinch of pain was extremely satisfactory. _

"_He's out there now, hunting Cato." Katniss snarled. _

_Was she really that dumb? She had to know that Clove wouldn't buy it. For a girl on fire Katniss had no spark. _

"_Peeta!" Katniss screamed. "Peeta!"_

_Now she was getting annoying. Clove swung her hand into Katniss' windpipe. Katniss' voice faded from screams to helpless squeals to nothing. It was official. Katniss was now completely and utterly defenseless. _

"_Liar!" Clove hissed. She could just imagine the proud look on Cato's face. "Cato knows where he cut him. He's nearly dead. You probably have him tied up to some tree trying to keep his heart going. What's in the pretty little backpack? Medicine for Lover Boy? Too bad he'll never get it." _

_Clove opened her jacket, sorting through her weapon arsenal until she found the perfect knife. It was small and dainty looking, but if you looked closely enough you'd see the cruel curved blade. It was unpredictable and sharp, just like her. _

"_I promised Cato if he let me have you, I'd give the audience a show."_

_It was so hilarious how Katniss tried to struggle, how she thought that for one minute Clove would let go of her. No way was she easing her grasp. Clove had killed at least half the people in the games, yet this was the first kill that meant something to her. The first kill that was a challenge. _

"_Forget it District Twelve, we're going to kill you..." _

_Could Clove say what she wanted to say next? She never felt more free in her entire life, killing Katniss was like burying all of her insecurities. She never should have let those girls affect her; she could have just killed them all. _

"_Just like we killed your pathetic little ally, what was her name? The one who hopped around in the trees? Rue? Well, first Rue, then you, and I think we'll just let nature take care of Lover Boy. How does that sound?"_

_Clove knew she was pushing the limits. Her heart sunk into her stomach. The truth was Clove secretly admired Rue. She reminded her of the way she used to act when she was twelve; brave, fast, hopelessly unlucky, fighting to survive. _

'_You grew up Clove; you're not that girl anymore. Show Katniss you're not that girl anymore, force her to see it.' _

_Clove took a deep breath and wiped the blood from Katniss' face. _

"_Now where to start?"_

_Katniss leaned into Clove's hand, attempting to bite it. It was so pathetic. _

"_I think, I think we'll start with your mouth."_

_Katniss couldn't respond, she didn't need to; she was saying everything with her eyes. Those grey eyes, hard and cold like stone. Those eyes that represented every hardship Clove ever dealt with staring at her icily. Forget giving a good show, Katniss needed to die, she needed to die quickly. _

"_Yes, I don't think you'll have much use for your lips anymore. Want to blow Lover Boy one last kiss?"_

_Before she could finish her sentence a flash of red blood pelted Clove in the face. This was the last straw. _

"_All right," Clove purred. "Let's get started."_

Clove was angry, it wasn't fair. She didn't want to die, she didn't want to lose. Not this fight, she lost too much already. Death's hands were so powerful, lifting her trying to pry her away from Cato. She was fighting; she was trying, if only she knew what she was fighting for. It was hard to remember.

"Stay with me Clove," Cato whispered in a shaky voice.

Clove pulled his face towards hers weakly, hungry for the taste of his lips. Determined that maybe if she clings to him long enough she won't smell like death.

His face was wet with tears, it was so wrong. Cato was supposed to be fire, not like the superficial kind in the dresses Katniss wore in the Capitol, but the kind that was warm and passionate, the kind that had its mind set on lingering.

He couldn't surrender now? Not for her, not for grief and certainly not for death.

"Listen to me," Clove moaned. "You're going to keep fighting. You're going to win and you'll be the best, bravest Victor in all of Panem. You're going to get married and have kids, and they'll be strong. Just like you and me. You're going to grow old and die cozy in your bed, not here."

"No," Cato replied. "Not without you."

Clove smiled and stroked his cheek.

"Don't you get it Cato? I'll be with you wherever you go." She pointed to his heart. "Right here, I'll root for you through thick and thin."

Cato took her hand in his and wept silently. Why did she have to give up? She was a warrior, a citizen of District Two, the strongest most admirable district in all of Panem. But maybe, just maybe, surrendering to death is the bravest thing one could do.

_Clove began to make the first cut in Katniss' lip when an unknown force threw her to the ground. Only when Clove opened her eyes did she see it was Thresh. _

"_What'd you do to that little girl, you kill her?"_

_For the first time since the reaping Clove began to feel nervous. _

"_No! No, it wasn't me!"_

_Thresh lurched towards her, roaring like a lion with every step he took._

"_You said her name, I heard you. You kill her? You cut her up like you were going to cut up this girl right here?"_

_Thresh held a rock in his hands. Clove's fate flashed before her eyes. No, this couldn't happen to her! She was just about to win. _

"_Cato!" She screeched. "Cato!"_

"_Clove!"_

_The sound of Cato's was comforting, maybe she could be saved. A hint of a smile crawled onto Clove's face just as the rock smashed into her skull. _

_A wave of blackness rushed over her, all she knew is that Katniss got away. _

"_Clove!"_

_Cato's voice became more and more frantic. _

"_Clove come on!" _

_Clove wanted to get up, to fight, and to win. _

"_Clove wake up, please wake up."_

"May the odds be ever in your favor," Clove whispered. "I love y-" And just like that, she vanished.

A scream built up in Cato's throat, he wanted to get up on his feet and burn everything down.

The girl that once captivated him with her determination and fight was a rotting corpse on the ground.

Cato wiped a tear from his cheek and closed Clove's eyes. He gingerly stroked her cheek and kissed her cold lifeless lips one last time. He clung onto the hope that maybe she would wake up and kiss him back. That they would conquer the world together.

'_You're going to win.'_

Clove's breathless words rung in his ears.

This wasn't about the glory or the riches of being a Victor anymore. It was all for Clove.

Cato leapt onto his feet and looked up at the sky.

"I promise Clove that I will do whatever it takes to win." Cato mumbled.

They were going to pay, for distracting him from saving her.

Thresh was going to suffer, no amount of knife wounds and broken bones were going to make up for the hole in Cato's heart.

Cato collected his things and began to follow Thresh's path with a knife clasped tightly in his hands.

_**(A/N: Cliffhanger alert! Sorry for not updating, I got wrapped up with school work and such. I hope you like this chapter. Please feel free to review. I would also like to thank my brilliant beta reader funkypurplerhino.) **_


End file.
